U.S. patent application number 16/285260 was filed with the patent office on 2020-08-27 for closure system for displaying custom imprinted liners.
This patent application is currently assigned to Altium Healthcare Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Altium Healthcare Inc.. Invention is credited to David A. Miceli, Joseph A. Miceli.
Application Number | 20200270035 16/285260 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000003926360 |
Filed Date | 2020-08-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20200270035 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Miceli; David A. ; et
al. |
August 27, 2020 |
Closure System For Displaying Custom Imprinted Liners
Abstract
A closure system including a transparent inner cap, an opaque
outer cover, and a liner. The transparent inner cap includes a top
wall, an open bottom, a sidewall, and an inner cap attaching
mechanism disposed on an exterior surface of the sidewall. The
opaque outer cover includes an open top, an open bottom, a
sidewall, and an outer cover attaching mechanism disposed on an
interior surface of the sidewall. The opaque outer cover is
dimensioned and configured to be assembled with the transparent
inner cap via the corresponding attaching mechanisms to form an
assembled two-piece closure with the opaque outer cover
substantially covering the sidewall of the transparent inner cap.
The liner is operable to be inserted into the two-piece closure
such that the liner is visible through the open top of the opaque
outer cover and the top wall of the transparent inner cap.
Inventors: |
Miceli; David A.; (Reno,
NV) ; Miceli; Joseph A.; (Spencer, TN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Altium Healthcare Inc. |
Atlanta |
GA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Altium Healthcare Inc.
Atlanta
GA
|
Family ID: |
1000003926360 |
Appl. No.: |
16/285260 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 51/245 20130101;
B65D 2203/02 20130101; B65D 41/04 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 51/24 20060101
B65D051/24; B65D 41/04 20060101 B65D041/04 |
Claims
1. A closure system comprising: a transparent inner cap including a
top wall, an open bottom, a sidewall extending down from the top
wall to the open bottom, a closure engaging mechanism disposed on
an interior surface of the sidewall configured to contact and
interact with a corresponding container engaging mechanism for
removably applying the closure system to a container, and an inner
cap attaching mechanism disposed on an exterior surface of the
sidewall; an opaque outer cover having an open top, an open bottom,
a sidewall extending down from the open top to the open bottom, and
an outer cover attaching mechanism disposed on an interior surface
of the sidewall, the opaque outer cover dimensioned and configured
to be assembled with the transparent inner cap to form an assembled
two-piece closure wherein the sidewall of the opaque outer cover
substantially covers the sidewall of the transparent inner cap and
the outer cover attaching mechanism engages the inner cap attaching
mechanism for affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent
inner cap; and a liner operable to be inserted into a cavity formed
between the top wall and the sidewall of the transparent inner cap
such that the liner is visible through the open top of the opaque
outer cover and the top wall of the transparent inner cap of the
assembled two-piece closure.
2. The closure system of claim 1 wherein the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap and the sidewall of the opaque outer cover
are circumferential and the liner is disc-shaped to correspond with
the cavity formed by the circumferential sidewall of the
transparent inner cap.
3. The closure system of claim 1 wherein the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap includes an inner cap circumference that is
substantially the same as an outer cover circumference of the
sidewall of the opaque outer cover.
4. The closure system of claim 1 wherein the inner cap attaching
mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs and the outer cover
attaching mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs
configured to engage the plurality of vertical ribs of the inner
cap for affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner
cap.
5. The closure system of claim 1 wherein each of the interior
surface of the sidewall of the opaque outer cover and the exterior
surface of the sidewall of the transparent inner cap include one of
a protruding section and a recessed section, the protruding section
operable to engage the recessed section for permanently affixing
the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner cap.
6. The closure system of claim 5 wherein the opaque outer cover
includes the protruding section and the transparent inner cap
includes the recessed section, the inner cap attaching mechanism
being disposed within the recessed section of the transparent inner
cap and the outer cover attaching mechanism being disposed on the
protruding section of the opaque outer cover.
7. The closure system of claim 6 wherein the protruding section
includes an angled surface.
8. The closure system of claim 7 wherein the exterior surface of
the sidewall of the transparent inner cap includes an angled
surface adjacent the open bottom, the angled surface of the
transparent inner cap corresponding to the angled surface of the
protruding section of the outer cover to facilitate assembly of the
two-piece closure.
9. The closure system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of
liners each including different indicia for insertion into the
cavity of the assembled two-piece closures based on the indicia of
the liner selected for insertion.
10. A closure system comprising: an opaque outer cover having an
open top, an open bottom, a circumferential sidewall extending down
from the open top to the open bottom, and an outer cover attaching
mechanism disposed on an interior surface of the sidewall; a
transparent inner cap including a top wall, an open bottom, a
circumferential sidewall extending down from the top wall to the
open bottom, a closure engaging mechanism disposed on an interior
surface of the sidewall configured to contact and interact with a
corresponding container engaging mechanism for removably applying
the closure system to a container, and an inner cap attaching
mechanism disposed on an exterior surface of the sidewall, the
transparent inner cap dimensioned and configured to be inserted
into the opaque outer cover to form an assembled two-piece closure
wherein the sidewall of the opaque outer cover substantially covers
the sidewall of the transparent inner cap and the outer cover
attaching mechanism engages the inner cap attaching mechanism for
affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner cap, the
exterior surface of the sidewall of the transparent inner cap
including an angled surface adjacent the open bottom to facilitate
traversal of the exterior surface of the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap along the side wall of the interior surface
of the opaque outer cover during assembly of the assembled
two-piece closure; and a disc-shaped liner operable to be inserted
into a cavity formed between the top wall and the circumferential
sidewall of the transparent inner cap such that the liner is
visible through the open top of the opaque outer cover and the top
wall of the transparent inner cap of the assembled two-piece
closure.
11. A method of providing information to a user of a closure
system, the method comprising the steps of: providing a two-piece
closure including: a transparent inner cap including a top wall, an
open bottom, a sidewall extending down from the top wall to the
open bottom, a closure engaging mechanism disposed on an interior
surface of the sidewall configured to contact and interact with a
corresponding container engaging mechanism for removably applying
the closure system to a container, and an inner cap attaching
mechanism disposed on an exterior surface of the sidewall; an
opaque outer cover having an open top, an open bottom, a sidewall
extending down from the top wall to the open bottom, and an outer
cover attaching mechanism disposed on an interior surface of the
sidewall, the opaque outer cover dimensioned and configured to be
assembled with the transparent inner cap to form an assembled
two-piece closure wherein the sidewall of the opaque outer cover
substantially covers the sidewall of the transparent inner cap and
the outer cover attaching mechanism engages the inner cap attaching
mechanism for affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent
inner cap; and providing a liner to be inserted into a cavity
formed between the top wall and the sidewall of the transparent
inner cap, the liner including indicia printed on at least one side
of the liner; and inserting the liner into the cavity formed
between the top wall and the sidewall of the transparent inner cap
such that the indicia of the liner is visible through the open top
of the opaque outer cover and the top wall of the transparent inner
cap of the assembled two-piece closure.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing a plurality
of liners each having different indicia information printed thereon
and selecting the liner to be inserted into the cavity from the
plurality of liners based on the desired indicia information to be
visible to the user when using the assembled two-piece closure.
13. The method of claim 11 wherein the indicia of the liner
includes dosage information specific to the user of the closure
system.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising printing the dosage
information at a pharmacy.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the indicia of the liner
includes time-sensitive promotional information.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein the inner cap attaching
mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs and the outer cover
attaching mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs, the
method further comprising assembling the two-piece closure by
inserting the transparent inner cap into the opaque outer cover
such that the plurality of vertical ribs of the transparent inner
cap engage the plurality of vertical ribs of the opaque outer cover
to affix the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner cap.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein each of the interior surface of
the sidewall of the opaque outer cover and the exterior surface of
the sidewall of the transparent inner cap include one of a
protruding section and a recessed section, the assembling step
further including inserting the transparent inner cap into the
opaque outer cover until the protruding section engages the
recessed section for permanently affixing the opaque outer cover to
the transparent inner cap.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the opaque outer cover includes
the protruding section and the transparent inner cap includes the
recessed section, the inner cap attaching mechanism being disposed
within the recessed section of the transparent inner cap and the
outer cover attaching mechanism being disposed on the protruding
section of the opaque outer cover.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the protruding section includes
an angled surface.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the exterior surface of the
sidewall of the transparent inner cap includes an angled surface
adjacent the open bottom, the angled surface of the transparent
inner cap corresponding to the angled surface of the protruding
section of the outer cover to facilitate assembly of the two-piece
closure.
Description
FIELD
[0001] This disclosure relates to closures for containers. More
particularly, this disclosure relates to a two-piece closure system
for pharmaceutical containers designed to display custom imprinted
liners that can be selected for insertion into the closure system
based on a desired message.
BACKGROUND
[0002] There are many types of closure systems described in the
art. While many of these closures provide information such as an
indication of the contents of the particular container to which the
closure is applied (e.g., "2%" on a closure for a milk container),
warning messages (e.g., "Warning--This cap is Non-Child
Resistant"), operating instructions (e.g., "To open,
push-down-and-turn"), etc., the message is typically molded or
imprinted directly into the top of the closure. In other words, the
particular message is permanent to the particular closure to which
the message is applied.
[0003] Further, in order to efficiently make the closure with the
molded or imprinted message, the message for the particular closure
must be selected and applied to the closure at generally the same
time the closure is being manufactured (i.e., either included
within the mold when the message is molded to the top of the
container or in a separate manufacturing step when the message is
imprinted to the top of the closure). However, in many instances,
it may be desirable to assign a message to a particular closure at
a time after the closure is manufactured and/or at a location that
is different from where the closure is being manufactured. For
example, a pharmacy will order closures from a bottle/closure
manufacturer. While manufacturers are starting to provide options
for the pharmacy to select messages to be included on particular
closures, the pharmacy must select the particular message far in
advance of when the closure will actually be used in order to be
molded or imprinted to the closure by the manufacturer. This makes
it very difficult or otherwise prevents any type of time-sensitive
information to be displayed by the closure. Similarly, if the
message is no longer applicable or desired, the pharmacy must
either dispose of the closure or use the closure with the
non-applicable message. Thus, to prevent wasting closures or using
closures to display inapplicable messages, pharmacies will most
likely stick to generic messages such that the closures can be used
for a significant amount of time or otherwise will not have to be
replaced due to the expiration of time-sensitive information in the
message.
[0004] In light of the foregoing, what is needed in the art is a
closure system that is efficient to manufacture while also
providing for custom messages to be selected and displayed by the
closure after its manufacture.
SUMMARY
[0005] The above and other needs are met by a closure system
including a transparent inner cap, an opaque outer cover, and a
liner. The transparent inner cap includes a top wall, an open
bottom, a sidewall extending down from the top wall to the open
bottom, a closure engaging mechanism disposed on an interior
surface of the sidewall configured to contact and interact with a
corresponding container engaging mechanism for removably applying
the closure system to a container, and an inner cap attaching
mechanism disposed on an exterior surface of the sidewall. The
opaque outer cover includes an open top, an open bottom, a sidewall
extending down from the open top to the open bottom, and an outer
cover attaching mechanism disposed on an interior surface of the
sidewall. The opaque outer cover is dimensioned and configured to
be assembled with the transparent inner cap to form an assembled
two-piece closure wherein the sidewall of the opaque outer cover
substantially covers the sidewall of the transparent inner cap and
the outer cover attaching mechanism engages the inner cap attaching
mechanism for affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent
inner cap. The liner is operable to be inserted into a cavity
formed between the top wall and the sidewall of the transparent
inner cap such that the liner is visible through the open top of
the opaque outer cover and the top wall of the transparent inner
cap of the assembled two-piece closure.
[0006] According to certain embodiments, the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap and the sidewall of the opaque outer cover
are circumferential and the liner is disc-shaped to correspond with
the cavity formed by the circumferential sidewall of the
transparent inner cap.
[0007] According to certain embodiments, the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap includes an inner cap circumference that is
substantially the same as an outer cover circumference of the
sidewall of the opaque outer cover.
[0008] According to certain embodiments, the inner cap attaching
mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs and the outer cover
attaching mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs
configured to engage the plurality of vertical ribs of the inner
cap for affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner
cap.
[0009] According to certain embodiments, each of the interior
surface of the sidewall of the opaque outer cover and the exterior
surface of the sidewall of the transparent inner cap include one of
a protruding section and a recessed section. The protruding section
is operable to engage the recessed section for permanently affixing
the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner cap. In some
embodiments, the opaque outer cover includes the protruding
section, the transparent inner cap includes the recessed section,
the inner cap attaching mechanism is disposed within the recessed
section of the transparent inner cap, and the outer cover attaching
mechanism is disposed on the protruding section of the opaque outer
cover. According to some embodiments, the protruding section
includes an angled surface. In certain embodiments, the exterior
surface of the sidewall of the transparent inner cap includes an
angled surface adjacent the open bottom where the angled surface of
the transparent inner cap corresponds to the angled surface of the
protruding section of the outer cover to facilitate assembly of the
two-piece closure.
[0010] According to certain embodiments, the closure system further
includes a plurality of liners each including different indicia for
insertion into the cavity of the assembled two-piece closures based
on the indicia of the liner selected for insertion.
[0011] According to another embodiment, a closure system includes
an opaque outer cover, a transparent inner cap, and a liner. The
opaque outer cover includes an open top, an open bottom, a
circumferential sidewall extending down from the open top to the
open bottom, and an outer cover attaching mechanism disposed on an
interior surface of the sidewall. The transparent inner cap
includes a top wall, an open bottom, a circumferential sidewall
extending down from the top wall to the open bottom, a closure
engaging mechanism disposed on an interior surface of the sidewall
configured to contact and interact with a corresponding container
engaging mechanism for removably applying the closure system to a
container, and an inner cap attaching mechanism disposed on an
exterior surface of the sidewall. The transparent inner cap is
dimensioned and configured to be inserted into the opaque outer
cover to form an assembled two-piece closure wherein the sidewall
of the opaque outer cover substantially covers the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap and the outer cover attaching mechanism
engages the inner cap attaching mechanism for affixing the opaque
outer cover to the transparent inner cap.
[0012] The exterior surface of the sidewall of the transparent
inner cap includes an angled surface adjacent the open bottom to
facilitate traversal of the exterior surface of the sidewall of the
transparent inner cap along the side wall of the interior surface
of the opaque outer cover during assembly of the assembled
two-piece closure. The liner is disc-shaped and is operable to be
inserted into a cavity formed between the top wall and the
circumferential sidewall of the transparent inner cap such that the
liner is visible through the open top of the opaque outer cover and
the top wall of the transparent inner cap of the assembled
two-piece closure.
[0013] According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a method
of providing information to a user of a closure system includes the
step of providing a two-piece closure including a transparent inner
cap and an opaque outer cover. The transparent inner cap includes a
top wall, an open bottom, a sidewall extending down from the top
wall to the open bottom, a closure engaging mechanism disposed on
an interior surface of the sidewall configured to contact and
interact with a corresponding container engaging mechanism for
removably applying the closure system to a container, and an inner
cap attaching mechanism disposed on an exterior surface of the
sidewall. The opaque outer cover includes an open top, an open
bottom, a sidewall extending down from the top wall to the open
bottom, and an outer cover attaching mechanism disposed on an
interior surface of the sidewall. The opaque outer cover is
dimensioned and configured to be assembled with the transparent
inner cap to form an assembled two-piece closure wherein the
sidewall of the opaque outer cover substantially covers the
sidewall of the transparent inner cap and the outer cover attaching
mechanism engages the inner cap attaching mechanism for affixing
the opaque outer cover to the transparent inner cap. The method
further includes providing a liner to be inserted into a cavity
formed between the top wall and the sidewall of the transparent
inner cap with the liner including indicia printed on at least one
side of the liner and inserting the liner into the cavity formed
between the top wall and the sidewall of the transparent inner cap
such that the indicia of the liner is visible through the open top
of the opaque outer cover and the top wall of the transparent inner
cap of the assembled two-piece closure.
[0014] According to certain embodiments, the method further
includes providing a plurality of liners each having different
indicia information printed thereon and selecting the liner to be
inserted into the cavity from the plurality of liners based on the
desired indicia information to be visible to the user when using
the assembled two-piece closure.
[0015] According to certain embodiments, the indicia of the liner
includes dosage information specific to the user of the closure
system. According to some embodiments, the method further includes
printing the dosage information at the pharmacy.
[0016] According to certain embodiments, the indicia of the liner
includes time-sensitive promotional information.
[0017] According to certain embodiments, the inner cap attaching
mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs and the outer cover
attaching mechanism includes a plurality of vertical ribs.
According to this embodiment, the method further includes
assembling the two-piece closure by inserting the transparent inner
cap into the opaque outer cover such that the plurality of vertical
ribs of the transparent inner cap engage the plurality of vertical
ribs of the opaque outer cover to affix the opaque outer cover to
the transparent inner cap. In certain embodiments, each of the
interior surface of the sidewall of the opaque outer cover and the
exterior surface of the sidewall of the transparent inner cap
include one of a protruding section and a recessed section.
According to this embodiment, the assembling step further includes
inserting the transparent inner cap into the opaque outer cover
until the protruding section engages the recessed section for
permanently affixing the opaque outer cover to the transparent
inner cap. In some embodiments, the opaque outer cover includes the
protruding section and the transparent inner cap includes the
recessed section. According to this embodiment, the inner cap
attaching mechanism is disposed within the recessed section of the
transparent inner cap and the outer cover attaching mechanism is
disposed on the protruding section of the opaque outer cover.
[0018] According to certain embodiments, the protruding section
includes an angled surface. In some embodiments, the exterior
surface of the sidewall of the transparent inner cap includes an
angled surface adjacent the open bottom. According to this
embodiment, the angled surface of the transparent inner cap
corresponds to the angled surface of the protruding section of the
outer cover to facilitate assembly of the two-piece closure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Further advantages of the disclosure are apparent by
reference to the detailed description when considered in
conjunction with the figures, which are not to scale so as to more
clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate
like elements throughout the several views, and wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1A is an overhead perspective view of an opaque outer
cover according to one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 1B is an overhead perspective view of a transparent
inner cap according to one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 1C is an overhead perspective view of the transparent
inner cap of FIG. 1B assembled with the opaque outer cover of FIG.
1A to form an assembled two-piece closure system according to one
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0023] FIG. 1D is a top view of a liner dimensioned and configured
for insertion into the assembled two-piece closure system according
to one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0024] FIG. 1E is an overhead perspective view of the assembled
two-piece closure system of FIG. 1C with the liner of FIG. 1D
inserted into the assembled closure system such that the liner is
viewable through the top of the transparent inner cap according to
one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a top view an opaque outer cover according to one
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0026] FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the opaque outer cover
taken along line 2A of FIG. 2;
[0027] FIG. 3 is a top view of a transparent inner cap of FIG. 1B
according to one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the transparent inner
cap taken along line 3A of FIG. 3; and
[0029] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled two-piece
closure system according to one embodiment of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The disclosure relates to a closure system primarily
directed for use with containers intended to store and dispense
pharmaceutical products and the like. More specifically, the
closure system is intended to provide a pharmacy or other
dispensing entity the ability to quickly and efficiently provide
custom information to a user of the closure system. However, it
should be understood that the teachings of the present disclosure
may be utilized with other closure systems irrespective of the
intended purpose of the container to which the closure system is
used in situation in which it would be useful to display custom
information.
[0031] Referring first to FIGS. 1A-1E, a two-piece closure system
10 according to the present disclosure includes an opaque outer
cover 12 as exemplified in FIG. 1A and a transparent inner cap 52
as exemplified in FIG. 1B. As explained further below, the opaque
outer cover 12 and transparent inner cap 52 are configured to be
easily assembled together as exemplified in FIG. 1C to form the
two-piece closure system 10 where the opaque outer cover 12 covers
the sidewall 54 of the transparent inner cap 52 while allowing the
solid top 58 of the inner cap 52 to be visible through an open top
18 in the outer cover 12. A liner 80 as exemplified in FIG. 1D is
dimensioned and configured to be inserted into the two-piece
closure system 10 for displaying custom information/messages to a
user of the closure system 10 through the solid top 58 of the
transparent inner cap 52 as exemplified in FIG. 1E.
[0032] Referring more specifically to FIG. 1A, the opaque outer
cover 12 is opaque as result of being molded from one resin
material that forms a non-transparent / opaque cover in a singular
injection molding process. The opaque outer cover 12 includes a
sidewall 14 having an upper end 13 and a lower end 15, an open
bottom 16 adjacent the lower end 15, and an open top 18 adjacent
the upper end 13. In certain embodiments, the open top 18 may
include a rim extending from the top end 13 inward towards the
radial center of the outer cover 12. However, in preferred
embodiments, the sidewall 14 is circumferential without any type of
top rim (i.e., the open top 18 extends across the entirety of the
space between opposite ends of the sidewall 14) such that the
opaque outer cover 12 is generally ring-shaped as shown in FIG.
1A.
[0033] With continued reference to FIG. 1A, the sidewall 14 of the
opaque outer cover 12 includes an exterior surface 20 and an
interior surface 22. At least a portion of the interior surface 22
includes an outer cover attaching mechanism 24. While various
attaching mechanisms may be utilized within the teachings of the
present disclosure, the outer cover attaching mechanism 24
according to preferred embodiments is in the form of a plurality of
vertical ribs as shown, which are configured to engage similarly
configured vertical ribs 64 of inner cap 52 as further explained
below. In preferred embodiments, at least a portion of the exterior
surface 20 may also include knurlments 26 similar to the vertical
ribs of the outer cover attaching mechanism 24. To minimize width
of the sidewall 14, at least a portion of the sidewall 14 in
certain embodiments may be formed of the vertical ribs such that
the same ribs provide both a gripping element when a user grasps
the exterior surface 20 of the outer cover 12 and provide the outer
cover attaching mechanism 24 of the interior surface 22.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 1B, and in contrast to the opaque outer
cover 12, the transparent inner cap 52 is transparent as a result
of being molded from a separate resin in another singular injection
molding process that forms the transparent inner cap 52. The
transparent inner cap 52 includes a sidewall 54 having an upper end
53 and a lower end 55, an open bottom 56 adjacent the lower end 55,
and a solid top 58 adjacent the upper end 53. The sidewall 54
includes an exterior surface 60 and an interior surface 62. The
interior surface 62 includes a container engaging mechanism 61 that
is dimensioned and configured to contact and interact with a
corresponding engaging mechanism on a container (not shown) for
removably applying the closure system to the container as known in
the art. In other words, the transparent inner cap 52 in preferred
embodiments is intended to be a fully functioning closure with a
sidewall 54, an open bottom 56 for placing over a corresponding
container, a container engaging mechanism 61 for securing the inner
cap 52 to the container, and a solid top 58 for closing the opening
of the container when the inner cap is secured to the container
using container engaging mechanism 61. In typical embodiments, the
container engaging mechanism 61 is in the form of one or more
threads configured to engage one or more corresponding threads
disposed on a neck of the container. However, other container
engaging mechanisms 61 such as beads, cams, lugs and the like are
possible and within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0035] In preferred embodiments, the sidewall 54 of inner cap 52 is
circumferential to match the circumferential sidewall 14 of the
outer cover 12. According to this embodiment, the liner 80 is
preferably disc-shaped with generally the same diameter as the
internal diameter of the inner cap 52 such that the liner may be
secured underneath the solid top 58 of the inner cap 52 by
inserting the liner 80 through the open bottom 56 and into the
cavity formed by the sidewall 54 and solid top 58.
[0036] With continued reference to FIG. 1B, the transparent inner
cap 52 further includes an inner cap attaching mechanism 64
disposed on at least a portion of the exterior surface 60 of
sidewall 54. The inner cap attaching mechanism 64 corresponds to
the outer cover attaching mechanism 24 such that the inner cap
attaching mechanism 64 is configured to engage the outer cover
attaching mechanism 24 to assemble the inner cap 52 to the outer
cover 12. Thus, in preferred embodiments, the inner cap attaching
mechanism 64 includes a plurality of vertical ribs that correspond
to the plurality of ribs of the outer cover attaching mechanism 24.
According to this embodiment, the exterior surface 60 of the
sidewall 54 of the transparent inner cap 52 includes an inner cap
circumference that is substantially the same as an outer cover
circumference of the interior surface 22 of the sidewall 14 of the
opaque outer cover 12. As a result, when the sidewall 14 of the
outer cover 12 and sidewall 54 of inner cap 52 are
circumferentially shaped, the external diameter of the inner cap 52
(i.e., diameter through axial center of inner cap 52 to opposite
ends of exterior surface 60 of sidewall 54) and internal diameter
of the outer cover 12 (i.e., diameter through the axial center of
outer cover 12 to opposite ends of the interior surface 22 of
sidewall 14) are substantially the same such that ribs 24 of the
outer cover 12 mate/engage with the ribs 64 of the inner cap 52 to
prevent axial rotation of the outer cover 12 with respect to the
inner cap 32 when the inner cap 52 is pushed into the outer cover
12 (or the outer cover is slid around the inner cap 52). It should
be understood that other forms of attaching mechanisms 24, 64 may
be utilized within the scope of the present disclosure including,
without limitation, tongue-and-groove assembly, male/female
attaching mechanisms, etc.
[0037] In preferred embodiments, to assemble the two-piece closure
system 10, the transparent inner cap 52 is intended to be pushed
down through the open top 18 of the opaque outer cover 12 (or
opaque outer cover 12 pushed up through the open bottom 56 of the
transparent inner cap 52) such that the exterior surface 60 of
sidewall 54 of the transparent inner cap 52 traverses the interior
surface 22 of outer cover 12 until the inner cap attaching
mechanism 64 fully engages the outer cover attaching mechanism 24.
Upon the inner cap attaching mechanism 64 engaging the outer cover
attaching mechanism 24, the opaque outer cover 12 is affixed to the
transparent inner cap 52. For purposes of the present disclosure,
the term "affixed" or "affixing" refers to the outer cover 12 being
unable to be axially rotated without also rotating the inner cap
52. In other words, following assembly of the opaque outer cover 12
to the transparent inner cap 52, the attaching mechanisms 24, 64
prevent any independent rotation of the outer cover 12 around the
inner cap 52 or any independent rotation of the inner cap 52 within
the outer cover 12. Similarly, as rotation of the outer cover 12
causes corresponding rotation of the inner cap 52, the assembled
closure system 10 may be installed or removed from a corresponding
container by axially rotating outer cover 12, which in turn rotates
the inner cap 52 to install or remove the closure system 10 from
the container vis-a-vis rotation of the container engaging
mechanism 61.
[0038] According to another aspect of the disclosure, the interior
surface 22 of the sidewall 14 of outer cover 12 and the exterior
surface 60 of the sidewall 54 of inner cap 52 are preferably
dimensioned and configured to permanently affix the outer cover 12
to the inner cap 52 upon assembly. For purposes of the present
disclosure, the phrase "permanently affix" or "permanently
affixing" refers to the assembled closure system preventing both
independent rotation of the outer cover 12 and inner cap 52 as well
as preventing any vertical movement of the inner cap 52 within the
outer cover 12 following assembly (i.e., prevent potential
disassembly and/or shelling of the assembled two-piece closure
system after assembly). In this regard, as best shown FIG. 2A,
which is a cross-sectional view of opaque outer cover 12 taken
along line 2A of FIG. 2, the interior surface 22 of sidewall 14 of
outer cover 12 preferably includes an upper portion 28 adjacent the
upper end 13, a lower portion 30 adjacent the open lower end 15,
and a slightly protruding middle section 29 containing the vertical
ribs 24 disposed between the upper portion 28 and lower portion 30.
As a result of the slightly protruding middle section 29, the ribs
24 of outer cover 12 extend slightly into the open interior portion
of the outer cover 12 as compared to upper portion 28 and lower
portion 30.
[0039] As best shown in FIG. 3A, which is a cross-sectional view of
transparent inner cap 52 taken along line 3A of FIG. 3, the
exterior surface 60 of sidewall 54 of inner cap 52 includes a
corresponding recessed middle section 79. As shown in FIGS. 1B and
3, the ribs 64 of inner cap 52 are disposed in a portion of the
recessed middle section 79 while other portions of middle section
79 lack the ribs 64. Thus, when the two-piece closure system is
assembled according to this embodiment, the ribs 24 of the
protruding middle section 29 of outer cover 12 are configured to
either mate/engage with corresponding ribs 64 of the recessed
middle section 79 of inner cap 52 to prevent axial rotation of
outer cover 12 independently of inner cap 52 or, when aligned with
the recessed middle section 79 without ribs 64, to be inserted into
the recessed middle section 79 to permanently affix the outer cover
12 to the inner cap 52 (i.e., prevent undesirable shelling or
removal of the outer cover 12 from the inner cap 52). In certain
embodiments, one or more ribs may also be dispersed in the portions
of middle section 79 that lacks ribs 64 to provide structural
support for the middle section 79.
[0040] According to another aspect of the disclosure, and with
reference again to FIGS. 2A, the protruding middle section 29 of
outer cover 12 preferably protrudes at a slight angle beginning
adjacent the bottom of upper portion 28 and abruptly ending
adjacent the top of the lower portion 30 to form a sharp edge 31
that extends generally perpendicular to the sidewall 14 (it is
noted that the angle could begin adjacent the top of the lower
portion and extend to the bottom of the upper portion 28 in a less
desirable embodiment where the outer cover 12 is pushed down with
respect to the inner cap 52). Accordingly, the angle of the
protruding middle section 29 provides a ramp or inclined surface to
facilitate traversal of the exterior surface 60 of sidewall 54 of
inner cap 52 with respect to the interior surface 22 of sidewall 14
of outer cover 12 until the protruding middle section 29 of outer
cover 12 "snaps" into the recessed middle section 79 of inner cap
52 as exemplified in FIG. 4, which depicts a cross-sectional view
similar to FIGS. 2A and 3A of the assembled closure system 10. The
assembly of the protruding middle section 29 is referred to as
"snapping" into the recessed middle section 79 as a result of the
sidewall 24 of outer cover 12 and/or sidewall 54 of inner cap 52
slightly deforming during traversal of the exterior surface 60 of
sidewall 54 along the angled middle section 29 of sidewall 24 until
the sidewalls snap back to their undeformed state when the
protruding middle section 29 is fully inserted into the recessed
middle section 79 to complete the assembly process.
[0041] To further facilitate assembly, and with reference again to
FIG. 3A, sidewall 54 of inner cap 52 preferably includes an angled
surface 76 adjacent the lower end 55 of the exterior surface 60.
Angled surface 76 of inner cap 52 also ends at a sharp edge 71
extending towards the interior of the inner cap generally
perpendicular to sidewall 54 adjacent the recessed middle section
79. Thus, during assembly, the leading angled surface 76 of inner
cap 52 is able to ride the ramp provided by the angled middle
section 29 of the outer cover 12 to facilitate sliding of the inner
cap 52 within the outer cover 12 while further preventing unwanted
shelling after assembly as a result of the sharp edge 31 of the
outer cover 12 engaging the sharp edge 71 of the inner cap 52 when
the outer cover 12 and inner cap 52 are assembled together as
described above and shown in FIG. 4.
[0042] The closure system 10 of the present disclosure has several
advantages. First, by providing a closure system with a transparent
top, an entity using the closure system 10 to close a corresponding
container is able to quickly select a particular message that will
be visible to the user of the closure system 10. For example, a
pharmacy or other dispensing entity may print or otherwise have in
stock a plurality of pre-printed liners 80 having different indicia
displayed thereon corresponding to different messages. Alternately,
the pharmacy could provide "on demand" printing of the liner during
the normal prescription label printing process. At the time of
dispensing a prescribed pharmaceutical to a particular customer,
the pharmacy can select one of the liners 80 based on the preferred
indicia/message the pharmacy would like to be displayed to the
particular customer by inserting the selected liner 80 into the
inner cap 32. Similarly, the pharmacy could order a supply of
two-piece closure systems 10 from a closure manufacturer while
having the ability to later select the particular message to be
displayed to their customers by varying the message of the liners
80 inserted into the inner cap 32. For example, a pharmacy may
order a two-month supply of closure systems 10. During the first
month, the closure systems 10 are used to display a particular
promotion having an expiration date at the end of the month. Thus,
the pharmacy is able to insert liners 80 corresponding to the first
promotion for the minimum expected supply of closure systems 10 to
be used for the first month. If more closure systems are needed
during the first month, liners 80 with the first promotion may then
be inserted into additional closure systems from the two-month
supply while maintaining the ability to use the rest of the second
month supply for a to-be-determined promotion.
[0043] Another advantage of the closure system 10 of the present
disclosure is the ability to efficiently manufacture a closure
system 10 for displaying custom messages through a transparent top
while maintaining an aesthetically appealing and more traditional
appearance of the overall closure system 10. In this regard, the
assembled closure system 10 with a transparent top as a result of
the transparent inner cap 32 and an opaque sidewall as a result of
the opaque outer portion 12 provides a more aesthetically appealing
closure system as compared to a one-piece closure formed of a resin
that results in a closure that is entirely transparent. Further,
while a co-injection process may be used to form a one-piece
closure with a transparent top and an opaque sidewall using two
different resins, the co-injection process is unduly expensive,
slow, and requires additional machinery.
[0044] Yet another advantage of the closure system 10 of the
present disclosure is the ability to modify the type of information
that is able to be displayed by the liners 80 as generally
described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,881,988, which is commonly assigned to
the owners of the present application and the disclosure of which
is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In particular,
because the desired message can be selected following manufacture
of the closure system, it is much easier to customize the
information to a particular customer. In certain embodiments, the
customized information may be promotional information as described
above. For example, a pharmacy may want to use certain liners 80
for one group of customers (e.g., elderly, customers taking
specific medications, etc.) while using liners 80 with a different
message for another group of customers. In other embodiments, and
particularly for customers that are prescribed multiple medications
according to a medication synchronization program, liners 80 may be
designed to include specific dosage information for a particular
prescription being dispensed in the container to which the closure
system 10 is being applied as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,782,327,
which is commonly assigned to the owners of the present application
and the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in
its entirety.
[0045] The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this
disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and
description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or
variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The
embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the
best illustrations of the principles of the disclosure and its
practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill
in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and
with various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the
scope of the disclosure as determined by the appended claims when
interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are
fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.
* * * * *